Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!uicvm.uic.edu!u35828 Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago Date: Tuesday, 4 Jun 1991 17:49:47 CDT From: Message-ID: <91155.174951U35828@uicvm.uic.edu> Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware Subject: Re: Modems galore.. References: <91155.142848U35828@uicvm.uic.edu> I thank all of those who replied to my question on getting a generic external Hayes-compatible modem for the Mac. Here are a few of the replies sent to me: johnston@minnie.me.udel.edu wrote: Yes, of course. Modems are nearly generic. A serviceable 2400 baud modem plus mac cable should run you < $100. Don't pay extra for software. Try the free stuff before deciding what features to pay for ... osborn@ux1.lbl.gov (James R Osborn) wrote: Yes you definately can (I think). The Mac uses slightly different signals on the serial port though. What this means is that it is necessary to make a cable which maps the appropriate pins on your modem to the appropriate ones on the Mac, and I think some of the Mac pins need to be grounded. This has something to do with the modem liking ground and v+ while the mac likes v- and v+. I know that this could be determined by an examination of the pinout specs for your modem and the serial port information for the Mac (which is avaialable in Inside Macintosh). I'm not sure whether the Mac ports are all the same either (ie - Mac+ may not = Mac II, etc.)